Lubricating apparatus



J. T. LEONARD 2,526,568

Oct. 17, 1959 LUBRICATING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 12, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 o 3 I' f7 70- 87 96 im gf 29#- Tim , l Uf@ .Q Z@ f@ l 'l Oct. 17, 1950 J. T. LEONARD y?.

LUBRICATING APPARATUS original Filed Aug. 12, 1944 2 sheets-Sheet 2 A :I EE

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Patented Oct. 17, 1.950

LUBRICATIN G APPARATUS I John T. Leonard, Evanston, Ill.

Original application August 12, 1944, Serial No. 549,223, now Patent No. 2,440,410, dated April 27, 1948. Divided and this application June 7, 1946, Serial No. 675,239

(Cl. 18de-f7) 4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to lubricating apparatus, and more particularly to centralized lubricating systems and measuring valves used as parts of said systems.

One object of the invention is to provide animproved high pressure lubricating system employing an improved form of measuring valve.

A further object oi the invention is to provide an improved measuring valve which is durable and reliable in operation, and may he economically manufactured, and which is adapted for use either with grease or with oil as the lubricant.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a central longitudinal sectional View of one form of lubricating valve made in accordance with this invention and showing the valve with the parts'in their initial position before the application'of pressure;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional View similar to Fig. 1 Vexcept that the parts are shown at certain intermediate positions during an operative cycle of the system;

Fig. 3 is also a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. l but with the parts shown at their limiting positions at the end of one-half of the operating cycle;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionalview taken as indicated at line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a mcdiiied form of the measuring valve, embodying certain features of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken asindicated at line t--ii on Fig. 5;

Fig. 'i a central longitudinal sectional view of another modification of the measuring valve.

rlhis applicati-011 is a division of my application Serial No. 549,223, filed August 12, 1944, which on April 27, i948, matured into PatentNo. 2,440,410, and relating to lubricating apparatus, and it is concerned with certain forms oi measuring valves adapted for use in lubricating systems, particularly those of the multiple .dual line type in lwhich in most cases a plurality .of measuring valves are provided, each with two inlet ports, and are connected with two .supply lines through which lubricant under pressure is supplied alternately, thus causing measured quantities of lubricant to be delivered from each of the valves, first through one outlet and then through a second outlet', said outlets leading to bearings or .other parts of a mechanism requiringlubrication. The application of pressure is controlled .so :as to be supplied at intervals only and not continuously..

The form of measuring valve shown in Fig. 1 comprises a valve body l5 having a bore 18 with milled by-passes 30 and 9| and with plugs 82 and 83 threaded into the ends of the bore i8. fPistonv valves 84 and 35 are slidable in the bore i8 and are adapted to control the flow of lubricant through the ley-passes S0 and 8| as well as through ports 85 and 8l, which are adapted to be connected to the parts to be lubricated by coupling fittings 83. A piston 9@ is reciprocable in the bore i3 and has a longitudinal drilled hole 92 y extending therethrough for reception of a closely fitting valve operating stem 94. The valve stem 9i may be secured rigidly to one of the valves' 84 or or may be in the form of a pin unattached to either of these valves but serving to define a minimum spacing between them.

Centrally of the valve body lt is a port 9S which communicates with a valve port S8 formed in an indicator body |t0. A poppet type valve |02 is reciprocable in the body |00 being normally pressed downwardly by a compression coil spring |04, the upper end of which presses a suitable packing |06 into a packing cap |08. Upon the application of sufficient lubricant pressure at the valve port t8 the valve |02 will be raised and its outer end or stem l0 will be projected outwardly from the cap |03 as indicated in dotted outline in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 3.

Inthe lubricating system in which these measuring valves are adapted to be used, there is provided a pumping mechanism and a suitable control valve structure whereby lubricant is alternately forced under pressure through the laterally disposed inlet ports 24 and 25 in the valve body .10. Such pumping and valve apparatus may be of the type shown in my Patent No. 2,399,277, granted April 30, 1946, or may be of any other suitable construction. As shown in the drawings, the plugs 32 and 83 which close the ends of the valve body 'l are formed with centrally disposed projections l0 of reduceddiameter which serve to limit the strokes of the adjacent valves 84 and 85 and which thus prevent the valves from closing the inlet ports 24 and 2E which are disposed adjacent the extreme ends of the bore 78. In the form illustrated, the valve body 'I6-is designedas an individual unit and as seen in Fig. 4 the two diametrically opposite inlet ports 24 at one end of the body are provided with coupling ttings 2t by which they may be connected into one of the lubricant feed lines of' the system.

.Similar ycouplings are also supplied for the inlet ports 25 -at the opposite end of the valve body for connecting the measuring valve with the other supply line of the system; but'l it may be understood that a plurality of bores 'I8 may be formed in a single header block of the type shown in my copending application Serial No. 549,223 in which case the coupling Ai'lttings 2E may be omitted and the ports 24 and 25 will be connected by bores or passages formed directly in the block.

The operation of the valve shown in Figs. 1 to 4 will be readily understood from a comparison of these views. Upon application of lubric-ant pressure to the bore 'I8 through the ports 25 at one end thereof, the valve 85 will be forced to the right, carrying with it the valve 84 and the piston 90. The valve 84 being thus moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 will cut off its by-pass 80 and uncover the port 85 leading to the bearing to be lubricated. After the valve 84 encounters the stop 'I0 on the plug 82, the movement of the valve 85 will also be arrested by reason of the spacing eect of the stem 94, but lubricant will continue to flow through the by-pass 8| to force the piston 90 to the right and thereby discharge the lubricant at the right of this piston through the outlet port 86. Preferably, the piston 90 is formed at 8| with a reduced projection at the end adjacent the valve 85, thus providing an annular space between the valve and the end of the piston for the application of pressure to the piston by way of the by-p-ass 8|. The other end of the piston has a similar projection 9| which operates in the same manner during reverse movement of the parts.

When the rst half of the cycle of operation has been completed, causing the piston to be forced toward the right-hand end of the cylinder and into contact with the valve 84 therein, the continued supply of lubricant under pressure to the left-hand end of the bore 'i8 will cause the pressure to build up therein, and since at this phase of the operating cycle the piston will have uncovered the port 95, the plunger valve |02 will be raised from its seat against the force of a spring |04 so as to cause its stem or end portion III) to be projected from the cap |08, thus apprising the operator that this phase of the lubrication operation has been completed. The operator may observe that the end of the plunger valve |02 projects from the cap, or if the measuring valve is located in a place of poor visibility, the operator may hold his finger over the cap |08 and thus, when the valve plunger moves outwardly, receive a tactile signal that this part of the lubricating cycle has been completed. Thereafter the operator will reverse the lubricant supply so as to relieve the pressure at the left-hand end of the bore 'I8 and to supply lubricant under pressure to the right-hand end thereof to bores 24. From the foregoing it will be apparent that parts of the valve structure will be returned to the position in which they are shown in Fig. l, and a measured charge of lubricant will be forced through the outlet port 8l to the part to be lubricated. When the second phase of the operating cycle is thus completed, the lubricant pressure in the bore 'i8 at the right of the piston 00 will again operate the visual tactile signal valve I 02 by projecting its stem IIO from the cap |08 to indicate to the operator that a complete cycle of operation of the apparatus has been effected.

Figure discloses a modified form of the invention which in some respects resembles the principal form shown in my copending application Serial No. 549,223 of which the present application is a division. Figure 5 shows a valve body having inlet ports 214 and 25 near its opposite 4 ends respectively and having those ends closed by plugs 68 with reduced stop projections 10. Within the bore 22 of the body 20 there is a reciprocable piston 34 which feeds lubricant alternately through outlet ports 30 and 3l having coupling fittings 28 and 29 respectively for connection with conduits leading to the bearings to be lubricated. Diametrically opposite the outlets 30 and 3|, the bore 22 is formed with bypasses 52 and 53 which are of slightly greater length than the piston valves 52 and 55 mounted slidably in the bore 22 for controlling the bypasses and the outlet ports 30 and 3|.

In this particular form of Valve the bore 22 is provided with annular grooves 5S and 58 in which are mounted the arcuate leaf springs formed as shown in Fig. 6 and each having a central tongue 64 initially shaped to project toward the adjacent valve 54 or 55. Figure 5 shows the valve 55 in the position which it assumes when lubricant under pressure has been supplied through the port 25. The spring tongue 64 is forced back into the plane of the groove 58 while lubricant flows through the by-pass 53 and past the spring to force the piston 34 to its right-hand limit of movement. The function of the spring 84 as more fully explained in my said copending application is to shift the valve 55 back to position for closing the by-pass 53 when the pressure is relieved from the left-hand end of the valve body 20 and applied to the right-hand end through ports 24.

The movement of the piston 34 to either 1imit of its travel in the bore 22 uncovers the ports IIZ which lead to the port 98 and permit the lubricant pressure to be applied to the valve |02 for projecting its stem IIO from the cap or casing |08, thus notifying the operator when each half of the cycle has been completed, as already eX- plained in connection with the valve shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Figure 7 shows a third form of measuring valve embodying certain features of this invention. In this structure the valve body I I4 is provided with a piston I I8 reciprocable therein and with piston valves I I8 and I I9 which respectively control bypasses 52 and 53 and outlet ports 30 and 3| in substantially the same manner as the valve members 54 and 55 and the valve members 84- and 85 already described. The piston I I8 has an eccentrically located hole |20 in which a valve operating pin |22 is slidable, the t of the pin in bore |20 being sufficiently close to prevent leakage of lubricant past it. Thus, as lubricant under pressure is supplied to the left-hand end of the valve body II4, the initial movement of the valve IIS to the right causes exactly corresponding movement of the valve I I8, due to the mechanical connection provided by the pin |22. As in the case of the pin 94, the pin |22 may be secured rigidly to one of the valves or may be unattached to either of them, but preferably, in View of its eccentric location in the piston III, the pin |22 will not be attached to either of the valves.

In this form of valve, one end of the body II4 is closed by a threaded plug 08 having a reduced projecting portion 'I0 serving as a stop for the valve II8. The other end of the body II4 is closed bya two-part plug having an outer portion 40 and an inner end portion 45 with a reduced projection 47 acting as a stop for the valve II9. This plug has a bore through which an indicator stem 36 extends slidably from the piston II' to which it is loosely anchored. This stem 36 projecting from the plug 40 at one end of the body escasas H4 serves to apprise the operator of th posil tion and movements of the piston I IB in a Inanner more fully described in my said copending application Serial No. 549,223, thus serving the same purpose as the indicator stem I IB of Figs.V 1 and 5.

While there are shownand described herein certain structures embodying my invention` and illustrative thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby, but that it embraces all modications, variations and equivalents which may come Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lubricant measuring valve comprising a valve body having a bore extending therethrough,

said bore having a bypass at each end thereof, a

cylindrical valve at each end of said bore and operable to cut off its adjacent bypass when in one position and to uncover said bypass when in another position, a piston reciprocable in said bore between said valves, a valve stem extending through said piston and having its ends normally engaging said valves to cause them to move one with the other, means for supplying lubricant under pressure alternately to the opposite ends of said bore, and discharge ports near the ends of said bore and adapted to be covered respectively by said valves, said cylinder having a port uncovered by said piston when the latter is at either end of its stroke, and a hydraulic pressure indicator connected to said last named port.

2. In a lubricant measuring valve having a measuring cylinder, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, means for limiting the stroke of said piston, a bypass at each end of said cylinder for conducting lubricant to the portion of the cylinder in which the piston is reoiprocable, a valve associated with each of said bypasses and operative to prevent ow of lubricant therethrough, a pair of outlet ports formed in said body and communicating with the opposite ends of said cylinder, each of said valves being operable to control the flow of lubricant through one of said bypasses and one of said outlet ports, said cylinder having a port uncovered by said piston when the latter is at either end of its stroke, and a hydraulic pressure indicator connected to said last named port.

3. A lubricant measuring valve comprising a valve body having a bore extending therethrough, plugs closing both ends of said bore, said bore having a bypass adjacent each end thereof, a cylindrical valve in each end of said bore and slidable therein to cut off its adjacent bypass when in one position and to uncover said bypass when supplying lubricant under pressure alternately to the opposite ends of said bore, such means including laterally disposed ports in said body formed respectively adjacent said plugs which close the ends of said body, each of said plugs having at its inner end a projection of cross-section less than that of the bore, said projection serving to limit the movement of the adjacent valve toward the end of the bore and preventing I the valve from closing the inlet port at that end,

and a hydraulic pressure indicator connected to the port uncovered by said piston when the latter is at either end of its stroke.

4. A lubricant measuring valve comprising a valve body having a bore extending therethrough, said bore having a bypass at each end thereof, a cylindrical valve at each end of said bore and operable to cut off its adjacent bypass when in one position and to uncover said bypass when in another position, a piston reciprocable in said bore between said valves, means for supplying lubricant under pressure alternately to the opposite ends of said bore, and discharge ports near the ends of said bore and adapted to be covered respectively by said valves, said cylinder having a port uncovered by said piston when the latter is at either end of its stroke, and a hydraulic pressure indicator connected to said last named port.

JOHN T. LEONARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name -Date 1,935,139 Barks Nov. 14, 1933 1,935,150 FOX Nov. 14, 1933 l 2,006,181 Reswick June 25, 1935 2,115,637 Leonard Apr. 26, 1938 2,269,928 Dirkes Jan. 13, 1942 2,284,799 Brownstein June 2, 1942 2,300,330 Acker Oct. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 735,550 France Aug. 30, 1932 

